Key transfer: Nico presents new cars to Mercedes customers

Key transfer: Nico presents new cars to Mercedes customers

One lucky Mercedes-Benz customer in Würzburg, Germany will have an abiding memory of the day he took delivery of his new car. Handing over the keys for the new Mercedes S500 was no less a figure than the team’s Formula One star Nico Rosberg. The quick-thinking customer asked Nico for his autograph… and promptly pointed to the dashboard of his new car!

Nico’s day started with a visit to the Mercedes-Benz Technology Centre at the main Mercedes-Benz production site in Sindelfingen. This is where all of the research and development work takes place for new Mercedes-Benz models. Nico used the opportunity to try out the handling simulator, the ride simulator and the driver assistance simulator.

For transport around the Sindelfingen site, Nico had the loan of a Mercedes-Benz B-Class fuel cell model. This 100% electric-powered vehicle uses a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery as its energy supply. The electric current is generated by the chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. And the only emission given off is water.

After visiting the Technology Center, Nico’s next port of call was the Customer Service Centre, where he handed over the keys for new vehicles to the customer from Würzburg and a Daimler employee who was taking possession of her new C250. She turned out to be a huge motor racing fan and proudly informed Nico that she had travelled to Istanbul with the express purpose of cheering him on in the Turkish Grand Prix.

Nico was then whisked off to sports car manufacturer HWA AG in Affalterbach where he got behind the wheel of DTM Champion Paul di Resta’s AMG Mercedes C-Klasse and a new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. The technical details of both cars were explained to Nico by HWA CEO Gerhard Ungar and Mercedes-Benz racing driver Thomas Jäger.

The day concluded with a panel discussion in front of a 620-strong audience in Stuttgart’s elegant Haus der Wirtschaft. Joining Nico on the platform were the Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Norbert Haug and editor-in-chief of the Stuttgarter Zeitung, Joachim Dorfs. Nico spent two hours answering questions from the public on the subject of Formula One.